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05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College
The last Viking-Norman Jorgensen
Young Josh is very brave. He's not afraid of anyone or anything – except maybe the dark. Pirates worry him a bit, of course, and so do boy-eating dinosaurs, and monsters under the bed. He's also just a little afraid of dragons and vampires. But other than those few things, Josh is as brave as a lion. Sort of. When Josh comes to face to face with real-life trouble, he begins to find out how brave he really is . . . Time to go a-viking!
05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College Creepy Carrots Aaron Reylonds (Peter Brown Ill.) Jasper Rabbit loves carrots—especially Crackenhopper Field carrots. He eats them on the way to school. He eats them going to Little League. He eats them walking home. Until the day the carrots start following him...or are they? Celebrated artist Peter Brown’s stylish illustrations pair perfectly with Aaron Reynold’s text in this hilarious picture book that shows it’s all fun and games…until you get too greedy.
05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College Goldilocks and the 3 Dinosaurs – Mo Willems Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day—for no particular reason—they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then—for no particular reason—they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not! This new take on a fairy-tale classic is so funny and so original—it could only come from the brilliant mind of Mo Willems.
1/29/2013 Rachael Smart BSB
Cloudette -
2RS enjoyed this book because: Cloudette was a kind cloud who wanted to help people. She could do things that the other clouds could not and she persevered to reach her goal. Children also liked seeing the rain pour across the pages.
Preschool-Grade 2. Stealth and silent, a ninja sets off on a midnight mission, breaking into a house to steal some treasure. He sneaks and balances, practiced and undetectable. And just as the sacred object is in his grasp, the lights flip on and his mother catches him, ice cream and spoon in his red-hot hands. Alas, the nighttime ninja is sent to bed, to dream of creeping and crawling another day. Young’s expressive collage artwork, built of fabric, paper, and bits of string, hums with vitality, even in the silence of midnight. The imagined ninja, in black silhouette, slithers from page to page, breaking out of dark, tightly organized frames unable to contain his ardent energy. Beneath these frames, debut author DaCosta’s spare, sinuous prose reinforces the ninja’s intrepid, surreptitious elegance (“Step by step, he balanced and leapt”). At the moment of climactic surprise, text and image together turn a stylistic corner, finding vernacular comfort in a contemporary Japanese home. With measured pacing, careful design, and a beautifully symbiotic partnership of word and image, this enormously appealing, timeless story promises to delight preschool audiences and families alike for years to come.
Rapido the messenger and his van throughout the city as he delivers packages. Great graphism
A lift-the-flap book.
"The bestselling creators of "365 Penguins" are back with a jaunt through city life featuring lift-the-flaps with clever clues on every page. Underneath each flap, a rhyme and a picture help lead young readers to fill in the blanks and determine what's being delivered by Rapido, a delivery van, at each location. Full color."
1/14/2013 A. Boone, ISB
We have been collecting suggestions from teachers, students (K-5), parents and librarians of book suggestions for Panda nominees. Here is a list of suggestions for young readers
Preschool-Kindergarten. In this brightly illustrated book from the Llama Llama series, new neighbors come to visit. Llama manages to share his blocks and play nicely with little Nelly Gnu, sometimes referred to as “the Gnu girl.” But when he sees her playing with his dolly Fuzzy, Llama grabs, Nelly tugs, and Fuzzy’s arm rips off. After apologies and a bit of mending, Llama and Nelly enjoy playing together again. Clearly depicting the characters’ emotions, Dewdney’s paintings bring the rhyming text to life on the page. The simplicity of the story and its timeless topic will make this a popular choice for reading aloud.
Preschool-Kindergarten. Pigeon is back, in all of his indignant, passive-aggressive glory, overwrought this time at one gross injustice: a cute little duckling is now on the scene and has been rewarded a cookie (with nuts) for doing nothing more than asking for it politely. Pigeon pulls out all of the usual pigeon stops—coy glances, cartwheels, and crocodile tears—in the hopes of securing a cookie for himself . . . and it works! The duckling shares.
Preschool-Grade 2. After showing up with a bandaged proboscis, Elephant proceeds to tell the “long, crazy story” of how it happened. Memory bubbles let us follow along: first Elephant lifted Hippo with his trunk (“Why?” asks Piggie. “Because!” Elephant answers). But that is not what broke his trunk, and neither is the addition of Rhino and Hippo’s sister and Hippo’s sister’s piano. As usual, Willems’ use of pastel colors and vast white backdrops work minimalist wonders, making this another fine outing of this most dependable of series.
Preschool-Grade 2. When a wispy-haired girl, bored out of her mind, comes across a potato, she finds he is bored, too. She would be happy to hang out with him, but the potato thinks “kids are boring.” The little girl attempts to prove him wrong by showing him all the fun things kids can do, like “spin around in circles until we get so dizzy we almost throw up” or pretend to be a famous ballerina or a lion tamer. But our spud is not impressed. Even when the girl hilariously throws on a potato costume, he remains steadfastly ho-hum. Ohi’s digitally created girl is a real charmer as she skips and twirls across the pages; the fantasy elements, rendered in pale blue and set on a crisp white background, nicely contrast the two full-colored characters, and the potato humorously pops up in the fantasies from time to time—for example, as a monkey’s coconut or as the head on a snowman. This is a super silly story. But, hey, at least it’s not boring.
Preschool-Grade 1. The title says it all, but as luck would have it, Mouse, Duck, Frog, and Mole are all too busy preparing for the approaching winter to listen to Bear’s tale. He decides the story can wait and helps his woodland friends with their preparations, before settling in for a long winter’s nap. Come springtime, Bear gathers the gang and waits until just the right moment to begin his story—if only he could remember what it was! Not to worry, his friends have real-life suggestions that bring the narrative satisfyingly full circle.
Grades K-2. Under the tutelage of the little yellow bird, the star of How Rocket Learned to Read (2010) is graduating from reading stories to writing one of his own. After a bit of writer’s block, the earnest pup finds unexpected inspiration in the scent of pine needles and feathers. Following his nose, Rocket discovers a friendly but shy owl nesting high up in a tree. He decides to write a story about his new acquaintance, and the owl ventures a little further down the tree each day to hear Rocket read his work in progress. The little yellow bird’s sage advice on the writing process and the story’s focus on the rewards of creative expression will have children excitedly reaching for their own pencil and paper. Hills’ illustrations are as winning as ever here, with soft lines, a natural palette, and the characters’ tender expressions affirming the gentle spirit of this story about literary enterprise and forming friendships.
Preschool-Grade 3. Little Jane loves her stuffed animal, a chimpanzee named Jubilee, and carries him everywhere she goes. Mainly, they go outdoors, where they watch birds building their nests and squirrels chasing each other. Jane reads about animals in books and keeps a notebook of sketches, information, and puzzles. Feeling her kinship with all of nature, she often climbs her favorite tree and reads about another Jane, Tarzan’s Jane. She dreams that one day she, too, will live in the African jungle and help the animals. And one day, she does. With the story’s last page turn, the illustrations change from ink-and-watercolor scenes of Jane as a child, toting Jubilee, to a color photo of Jane Goodall as a young woman in Africa, extending her hand to a chimpanzee. Quietly told and expressively illustrated, the story of the child as a budding naturalist is charming on its own, but the photo on the last page opens it up through a well-chosen image that illuminates the connections between childhood dreams and adult reality. On two appended pages, “About Jane Goodall” describes her work, while “A Message from Jane” invites others to get involved.
Grades 2-5. Bright, mixed-media collage scenes illustrate this picture-book poetry collection that plays with literary allusions. In “Cliffhanger,” a desperate dog clinging to a cliff above a shark-filled ocean implores, “Please, author, write / a sequel fast!” In another selection, a character pleads for his life: “Don’t close the cover and don’t walk away / Don’t leave me squished in here day after day.” On one spread, the index brags: “I’m telling you, kid: ignore the rest of the book. / All you really need is me.” Plot has a voice in another poem: “My characters / hate me. They don’t think I’m grand. / But without me / their plots / would be dreary / and bland.” And in a poem for three voices, Beginning and Ending try to comfort Middle and show him he matters, and then the three vie for importance. With its mix of poetic forms and wry twists on language-arts terms, this is a natural choice for sharing in classrooms and young writers’ workshops.
Grades 1-3. First it was an Academy Award–winning animated short. Then it was an intuitively interactive iPad story app. And now it’s a regular old book, which is fitting given that the story is all about the lasting power of books to transport and nourish the soul. Our hero is a bibliophile modeled after legendary children’s-literature advocate William Morris (in spirit) and Buster Keaton (in looks), whose gray-colored world is colorized when he sees a woman fly past, pulled by “a festive squadron of flying books.” One such book leads him to take custodianship of a house full of rambunctious stories. As the years pass, he writes one of his own, which in turn inspires a young girl after he is gone. The message-heavy narrative is lifted by Joyce’s superb artwork, presenting nostalgic, picket-fence scenes with a modeled, dimensional feel built on the animation but given a lustrous polish for the printed page. Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format.
A single leaf blown through a crack in a door tempts a girl outdoors, away from her many screens, in this plug for three-dimensional living. Indoors is awash in gray to convey the monotony of video games that end, computer programs that won’t load, cell phones that don’t have a signal. The girl tries to “connect” with her parents and brother by talking to them (“Hello, Dad”). But while Dad offers an answering hello, his attention never leaves his smartphone. At first the minimal text includes the tak tak tak of fingers on a keyboard (Mom’s) and the zap beep pow of a computer game (brother’s). Outdoors, the grayness gives way to abundant color and energetic black lines, while the beeps give way to the sniff of a nose against a flower. Cordell then turns the contrast way up, with the girl’s hearty “Hello, world!” and her horseback ride that becomes a parade of animals -- antelope, ostrich, gorilla, blue whale, and more -- all shouting greeting to one another. Sure, it’s message-y, but the message comes with whimsical cartoon art and a keen sense of humor. The ring ring ring of an angry cell phone eventually sends the girl home, but nobody can stay mad -- or inside -- for long when there are dinosaurs and giraffes out there eager to take them for a ride.
"This is a clever picture book with a dream-like quality. It is beautifully designed with a wealth of detail, conveying dark emotions, storms of war and weather, and a powerful sense of loss and bereavement." http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/recent_winners.php
1/9/2012 - K Gockley, ISB Chu's Day
Booklist (November 1, 2012 (Vol. 109, No. 5))
Preschool-Kindergarten. This slight but cute picture book from New York Times best-selling author Gaiman introduces a little panda named Chu (as in the ending sound of a sneeze). Chu’s sneezes “cause bad things to happen,” which is a problem when the tyke goes out in public. At the library, surrounded by a musty old-book smell, Chu’s mother asks, “Are you going to sneeze?” He responds with an “aah-aaah-Aaaah” that is followed by “‘No,’ says Chu.” False alarm. At the diner with his father, there’s pepper aplenty in the air, and Chu’s father asks the big question, but it’s also met with a no. While the joke perhaps doesn’t go on long enough before the circus-themed punch line, kids will find the idea of a monstrous sneeze funny, and it may prompt some attempts of their own. Rex’s richly detailed illustrations are brimming with fantastic touches, from teeny-tiny mice on their teeny-tiny computers (sitting in card catalog drawers!) to a koala bear acrobat at the circus to Chu’s penchant for aviation goggles. Share this one at toddler storytime for lots of giggles, or one-on-one for spotting details in the art. HIGH-DEMAND 12/12/2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
Saving Yasha: The incredible true story of an adopted Moon Bear, 2012 (reading level 2.3)
Booklist (July 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 21))
Grades K-3. It will be love at first sight when readers take a look at the captivating photos of this endearing little beast. The feelings will only strengthen when they read about the true plight of poor Yasha and two other bears orphaned in the Russian wilderness. The parade of adorableness begins with the cover photo and increases with each successive turn of the page: there’s a very small Yasha placed in the snow, paw raised, looking directly into the camera; Yasha drinking milk from a bottle, sticking out his pink tongue; and so forth. The succinct text explains that the three cubs were saved from poachers by two scientists who unobtrusively studied their behavior while carefully and patiently reintroducing them to the wild so that they could survive on their own. The back matter consists of a map showing where moon bears live, brief information about the bears, a scientist's note, and a resource list. With a handsome design, engaging photos, and compact text, this should have wide appeal. 12/5/2012 - Josianne Fitzgerald, IST
Z IS FOR MOOSE, by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky
Booklist Starred Review. This laugh-out-loud romp of an abecedary features an impatient moose who just can't wait for his turn. There is something intrinsically funny about moose (the art has a Bullwinkle feel), and this overenthusiastic one prematurely pops up onstage at D, wearing a proud grin, with hapless Duck having been pushed out of the way. Zebra (sporting a referee's black-striped shirt) leaps out from the corner, shouting, Moose? No. Moose does not start with D. You are on the wrong page. Moose then wanders onto Elephant's page, Flox and Glove are forced to share a stage and then Moose's irrepressibly excited mug plops down from the ceiling, obscuring Hat: Is it my turn yet? Basically, he is like an antsy kid anticipating his big star turn at M, only to be heartbroken when Mouse is given that letter's starring role. Zebra, though frustrated, is not deaf to Moose's offstage sobbing (look to the title for his resolution to the problem). Ideal for kids who are past struggling to learn the alphabet and who will fully get the humor in Moose's goofy antics.--Foote, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist.
School Library Journal (December 1, 2011) PreS-Gr 3-Simple science and stunning artwork spell success in this sensational look at a shape found fairly frequently in nature. From the shell of a snail to the starry arms of a spiral galaxy, the colorful scratchboard spreads capture these micro and macro worlds in show-stopping style.
ONE COOL FRIEND, by Toni Buzzeo
PreS-Gr 2 Horn Book starred (Fall 2012) When his father takes him to the aquarium, Eliot heads for the penguins, then takes one home in his backpack. As the illustrations reveal, the whole scenario works because Eliot's father is so focused on his own obsession with turtles that he is humorously oblivious--until the surprise ending--to what Eliot is doing. Buzzeo has crafted a droll narrative; Small's illustrations complement the child-friendly premise. 11/28/2012 - Josianne Fitzgerald, IST
PRESS HERE, by Herve Tullet. Chronicle Books, 2011.
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review. Tullet's brilliant creation proves that books need not lose out to electronic wizardry; his colorful dots perform every bit as engagingly as any on the screen of an iPad. "Ready?" the voiceover-style narration asks on the first page; it shows a yellow dot on a plain white background. "Press here and turn the page," it instructs. When the page is turned, there's a second yellow dot beside the first one. "Great!" it says. "Now press the yellow dot again." A third yellow dot appears beside the first two. "Perfect," the narrator continues. "Rub the dot on the left... gently." On the next page, voila!—that dot is now red. "Well done!" the book congratulates. The fun continues as the dots proliferate, travel around the page, grow and shrink in response to commands to clap, shake, or tilt the book, etc. The joy is in the tacit agreement between artist and reader that what's happening is magic. Shh! Don't tell. All ages. (Apr.)
11/14/2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
TOADS ON TOASTBy Linda Bailey.Illustrated by Colin Jack.32 pp. Kids Can Press. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)
A fox is bored and hungry, and tired of the same old grub. Visiting a cookbook store, he realizes he has been foolishly eating big fat toads, whereas most recipes call for young and tender toadlets. In haste, he catches enough small toads to fill a tureen, but then has their clever mother to contend with. (NYTimes Book Review) GANESHA’S SWEET TOOTHBy Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes.Illustrated by Sanjay Patel.40 pp. Chronicle Books. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)
A sugarcoated twist on a Hindu tale: Ganesha may be a Hindu god, but he used to be a sweets-obsessed child just like any other elephant. His weakness, it seems, is the traditional Indian dessert, laddoo. The freewheeling story involves a jawbreaker version of the dessert, a broken tusk and a tooth that can write. (NYTimes Book Review)
‘Oh, No!’ by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann
This squealing enjoyment is to be found in “Oh, No!,” the first book in which Candace Fleming, the author of picture books (“Clever Jack Takes the Cake”) as well as serious nonfiction (“Amelia Lost”), collaborates with Eric Rohmann, the Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator of “My Friend Rabbit.” What a match!
Fleming’s text reverberates with onomatopoeia: a hapless frog tumbles into a deep pit while fleeing a tiger with a “ribbit-oops!,” and a tiny mouse attempts to assist with a worried “pippa-eeek!” Lots of rhythmic repetition makes this a winner for 3- and 4-year-olds. They’ll also enjoy Rohmann’s lush woodblock prints and beat-by-beat panels. A monkey swings from vine to vine before gleefully pointing down into the hole and then — whoops — loses his grip, the final panel on the page showing a dangling vine and a glimpse of tail plunging below.
Ideally, “Oh, No!” should be read aloud by the kind of grown-up who doesn’t redden easily while making silly noises and growling at high volume. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Preschool-Grade 2. This is Willems’ first attempt at retelling a classic fairy tale and, if the endpapers are any indication, he might have struggled a bit at first. Red marks through such options as “Goldilocks and the Three Clams” and “Goldilocks and the Three Orthodontists” eventually give way to the ideal trio: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and “some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.” After they randomly set up three beds, three chairs, and three bowls of chocolate pudding, the dinosaurs head out to “someplace else” and hope “that no innocent little succulent child happens by.” Cue “poorly supervised” Goldilocks, who blithely barges in and helps herself to all the amenities awaiting her, until the pending danger finally dawns on her and she bolts, which causes the returning, hungry dinos to rue the fact they forgot to lock the backdoor. The book’s masterful line art and muted color palette contain untold expressions, perspectives, and jokes, and the text dryly emanates irony, wit, and wonderful words like traipsing and groggy. Willems has delivered his very best work so far—this is a tasty treat for kids already fluent with the original, and for any fan of funny, and everybody will want to read it again and again and again. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With three Caldecott Honor Books to his name—plus zillions of fans—Willems is children’s book royalty. Same, Same but Different. Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Booklist (October 1, 2011 (Online))
Preschool-Grade 1. Elliot, who lives in America, and Kailash, who lives in India, are pen pals exchanging details about their lives through the pictures they draw for each other. By sharing these illustrations and letters, they realize that they have many things in common, like going to school, having pets, and climbing trees. But some things are different, like their alphabets. The repeated phrase “same, same but different” is included in every exchange the boys share. This story, which celebrates similarities and differences, was inspired by the author’s own experiences as a teacher in Nepal, where she arranged a pen-pal program with students in the U.S. The vibrant acrylic, crayon, pencil, and collage illustrations exaggerate shapes to pleasant, semicomic effect. Pair this book with Rachel Isadora’s Say Hello! (2010) to help children with cultural awareness.
November 21, 2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
The Tooth Mouse. Susan Hood - (This has a French connection)
Sophie is a little French mouse who does not like sleeping. What she does like is playing Tooth Mouse, who dodges cats and collects coins to exchange for baby teeth. One day the real Tooth Mouse, elderly and clothed in black, appears and announces she is ready to name a successor. Who will be brave, honest, and wise enough to complete the three tasks Tooth Mouse has devised? Although little ones will suspect it’s Sophie, the mouse girl must be clever and perform with grace before the job is hers. Moreover, the last task leads to such a unique ending that listeners and their parents will smile with the cleverness of it all. Nadeau’s art is clever as well. Using delicate ink lines and soft-shaded watercolors, she offers pictures that seem truly set in a world of mice. There is a lightness and sweetness to the art that makes every full-page picture and vignette a tasty yet smart confection. Those who’ve believed in the Tooth Fairy will happily make a place for the Tooth Mouse.
November 28, 2012 - Karen Gockley
Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons -
Preschool-Grade 1. This third Pete the Cat title finds the unflappable feline digging his favorite shirt: “My buttons, my buttons, / my four groovy buttons.” Then one of these buttons pops off, leaving three. “Did Pete cry? Goodness, no! / Buttons come and buttons go.” He alters his song to reflect the new number. Another button pops on his skateboard, and while getting ice cream, and finally atop his surfboard, until there’s just one button left—his belly button. Litwin’s repetition will make this easy to sing along with (a free song is available for download), and Dean’s art gives everything a sunny-day-at-the-boardwalk feel.
05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College
The last Viking-Norman Jorgensen
Young Josh is very brave. He's not afraid of anyone or anything – except maybe the dark. Pirates worry him a bit, of course, and so do boy-eating dinosaurs, and monsters under the bed. He's also just a little afraid of dragons and vampires. But other than those few things, Josh is as brave as a lion. Sort of. When Josh comes to face to face with real-life trouble, he begins to find out how brave he really is . . . Time to go a-viking!
05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College
Creepy Carrots Aaron Reylonds (Peter Brown Ill.)
Jasper Rabbit loves carrots—especially Crackenhopper Field carrots.
He eats them on the way to school.
He eats them going to Little League.
He eats them walking home.
Until the day the carrots start following him...or are they?
Celebrated artist Peter Brown’s stylish illustrations pair perfectly with Aaron Reynold’s text in this hilarious picture book that shows it’s all fun and games…until you get too greedy.
05/02/2013- Liz Dulwich College
Goldilocks and the 3 Dinosaurs – Mo Willems
Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.
One day—for no particular reason—they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then—for no particular reason—they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl.
Definitely not!
This new take on a fairy-tale classic is so funny and so original—it could only come from the brilliant mind of Mo Willems.
1/29/2013 Rachael Smart BSB
Cloudette -
2RS enjoyed this book because: Cloudette was a kind cloud who wanted to help people. She could do things that the other clouds could not and she persevered to reach her goal. Children also liked seeing the rain pour across the pages.
1/24/2013 Karen Gockley, ISB
Nighttime Ninja -
Booklist starred (October 1, 2012 (Vol. 109, No. 3))
Preschool-Grade 2. Stealth and silent, a ninja sets off on a midnight mission, breaking into a house to steal some treasure. He sneaks and balances, practiced and undetectable. And just as the sacred object is in his grasp, the lights flip on and his mother catches him, ice cream and spoon in his red-hot hands. Alas, the nighttime ninja is sent to bed, to dream of creeping and crawling another day. Young’s expressive collage artwork, built of fabric, paper, and bits of string, hums with vitality, even in the silence of midnight. The imagined ninja, in black silhouette, slithers from page to page, breaking out of dark, tightly organized frames unable to contain his ardent energy. Beneath these frames, debut author DaCosta’s spare, sinuous prose reinforces the ninja’s intrepid, surreptitious elegance (“Step by step, he balanced and leapt”). At the moment of climactic surprise, text and image together turn a stylistic corner, finding vernacular comfort in a contemporary Japanese home. With measured pacing, careful design, and a beautifully symbiotic partnership of word and image, this enormously appealing, timeless story promises to delight preschool audiences and families alike for years to come.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 24, 2013 Dominique LFIP
Rapido, next stopby Fomental, Jean- luc 2011
Rapido the messenger and his van throughout the city as he delivers packages. Great graphism
A lift-the-flap book.
"The bestselling creators of "365 Penguins" are back with a jaunt through city life featuring lift-the-flaps with clever clues on every page. Underneath each flap, a rhyme and a picture help lead young readers to fill in the blanks and determine what's being delivered by Rapido, a delivery van, at each location. Full color."
1/14/2013 A. Boone, ISB
We have been collecting suggestions from teachers, students (K-5), parents and librarians of book suggestions for Panda nominees. Here is a list of suggestions for young readers
Llama Llama time to share
by Dewdney, Anna
Booklist (December 1, 2012 (Online))
Preschool-Kindergarten. In this brightly illustrated book from the Llama Llama series, new neighbors come to visit. Llama manages to share his blocks and play nicely with little Nelly Gnu, sometimes referred to as “the Gnu girl.” But when he sees her playing with his dolly Fuzzy, Llama grabs, Nelly tugs, and Fuzzy’s arm rips off. After apologies and a bit of mending, Llama and Nelly enjoy playing together again. Clearly depicting the characters’ emotions, Dewdney’s paintings bring the rhyming text to life on the page. The simplicity of the story and its timeless topic will make this a popular choice for reading aloud.
The duckling gets a cookie!?
by Willems, Mo
Booklist (April 1, 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 15))
Preschool-Kindergarten. Pigeon is back, in all of his indignant, passive-aggressive glory, overwrought this time at one gross injustice: a cute little duckling is now on the scene and has been rewarded a cookie (with nuts) for doing nothing more than asking for it politely. Pigeon pulls out all of the usual pigeon stops—coy glances, cartwheels, and crocodile tears—in the hopes of securing a cookie for himself . . . and it works! The duckling shares.
I broke my trunk!
by Willems, Mo
Booklist (April 15, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 16))
Preschool-Grade 2. After showing up with a bandaged proboscis, Elephant proceeds to tell the “long, crazy story” of how it happened. Memory bubbles let us follow along: first Elephant lifted Hippo with his trunk (“Why?” asks Piggie. “Because!” Elephant answers). But that is not what broke his trunk, and neither is the addition of Rhino and Hippo’s sister and Hippo’s sister’s piano. As usual, Willems’ use of pastel colors and vast white backdrops work minimalist wonders, making this another fine outing of this most dependable of series.
I'm bored
by Black, Michael Ian
Booklist (October 15, 2012 (Online))
Preschool-Grade 2. When a wispy-haired girl, bored out of her mind, comes across a potato, she finds he is bored, too. She would be happy to hang out with him, but the potato thinks “kids are boring.” The little girl attempts to prove him wrong by showing him all the fun things kids can do, like “spin around in circles until we get so dizzy we almost throw up” or pretend to be a famous ballerina or a lion tamer. But our spud is not impressed. Even when the girl hilariously throws on a potato costume, he remains steadfastly ho-hum. Ohi’s digitally created girl is a real charmer as she skips and twirls across the pages; the fantasy elements, rendered in pale blue and set on a crisp white background, nicely contrast the two full-colored characters, and the potato humorously pops up in the fantasies from time to time—for example, as a monkey’s coconut or as the head on a snowman. This is a super silly story. But, hey, at least it’s not boring.
Bear has a story to tell
by Stead, Philip Christian
Booklist (August 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 22))
Preschool-Grade 1. The title says it all, but as luck would have it, Mouse, Duck, Frog, and Mole are all too busy preparing for the approaching winter to listen to Bear’s tale. He decides the story can wait and helps his woodland friends with their preparations, before settling in for a long winter’s nap. Come springtime, Bear gathers the gang and waits until just the right moment to begin his story—if only he could remember what it was! Not to worry, his friends have real-life suggestions that bring the narrative satisfyingly full circle.
Rocket writes a story
by Hills, Tad
Booklist (July 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 21))
Grades K-2. Under the tutelage of the little yellow bird, the star of How Rocket Learned to Read (2010) is graduating from reading stories to writing one of his own. After a bit of writer’s block, the earnest pup finds unexpected inspiration in the scent of pine needles and feathers. Following his nose, Rocket discovers a friendly but shy owl nesting high up in a tree. He decides to write a story about his new acquaintance, and the owl ventures a little further down the tree each day to hear Rocket read his work in progress. The little yellow bird’s sage advice on the writing process and the story’s focus on the rewards of creative expression will have children excitedly reaching for their own pencil and paper. Hills’ illustrations are as winning as ever here, with soft lines, a natural palette, and the characters’ tender expressions affirming the gentle spirit of this story about literary enterprise and forming friendships.
Me-- Jane
by McDonnell, Patrick, 1956-
Booklist starred (March 15, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 14))
Preschool-Grade 3. Little Jane loves her stuffed animal, a chimpanzee named Jubilee, and carries him everywhere she goes. Mainly, they go outdoors, where they watch birds building their nests and squirrels chasing each other. Jane reads about animals in books and keeps a notebook of sketches, information, and puzzles. Feeling her kinship with all of nature, she often climbs her favorite tree and reads about another Jane, Tarzan’s Jane. She dreams that one day she, too, will live in the African jungle and help the animals. And one day, she does. With the story’s last page turn, the illustrations change from ink-and-watercolor scenes of Jane as a child, toting Jubilee, to a color photo of Jane Goodall as a young woman in Africa, extending her hand to a chimpanzee. Quietly told and expressively illustrated, the story of the child as a budding naturalist is charming on its own, but the photo on the last page opens it up through a well-chosen image that illuminates the connections between childhood dreams and adult reality. On two appended pages, “About Jane Goodall” describes her work, while “A Message from Jane” invites others to get involved.
Bookspeak! : poems about books
by Salas, Laura Purdie
Booklist (December 15, 2011
Grades 2-5. Bright, mixed-media collage scenes illustrate this picture-book poetry collection that plays with literary allusions. In “Cliffhanger,” a desperate dog clinging to a cliff above a shark-filled ocean implores, “Please, author, write / a sequel fast!” In another selection, a character pleads for his life: “Don’t close the cover and don’t walk away / Don’t leave me squished in here day after day.” On one spread, the index brags: “I’m telling you, kid: ignore the rest of the book. / All you really need is me.” Plot has a voice in another poem: “My characters / hate me. They don’t think I’m grand. / But without me / their plots / would be dreary / and bland.” And in a poem for three voices, Beginning and Ending try to comfort Middle and show him he matters, and then the three vie for importance. With its mix of poetic forms and wry twists on language-arts terms, this is a natural choice for sharing in classrooms and young writers’ workshops.
The fantastic flying books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
by Joyce, William, 1957-
Booklist (July 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 21))
Grades 1-3. First it was an Academy Award–winning animated short. Then it was an intuitively interactive iPad story app. And now it’s a regular old book, which is fitting given that the story is all about the lasting power of books to transport and nourish the soul. Our hero is a bibliophile modeled after legendary children’s-literature advocate William Morris (in spirit) and Buster Keaton (in looks), whose gray-colored world is colorized when he sees a woman fly past, pulled by “a festive squadron of flying books.” One such book leads him to take custodianship of a house full of rambunctious stories. As the years pass, he writes one of his own, which in turn inspires a young girl after he is gone. The message-heavy narrative is lifted by Joyce’s superb artwork, presenting nostalgic, picket-fence scenes with a modeled, dimensional feel built on the animation but given a lustrous polish for the printed page. Perhaps most fascinating, the movie, app, and book taken together present an entirely kid-friendly opportunity to talk about the interplay between content and format.
Hello! hello!
by Cordell, Matthew, 1975-
Horn Book (November/December, 2012)
A single leaf blown through a crack in a door tempts a girl outdoors, away from her many screens, in this plug for three-dimensional living. Indoors is awash in gray to convey the monotony of video games that end, computer programs that won’t load, cell phones that don’t have a signal. The girl tries to “connect” with her parents and brother by talking to them (“Hello, Dad”). But while Dad offers an answering hello, his attention never leaves his smartphone. At first the minimal text includes the tak tak tak of fingers on a keyboard (Mom’s) and the zap beep pow of a computer game (brother’s). Outdoors, the grayness gives way to abundant color and energetic black lines, while the beeps give way to the sniff of a nose against a flower. Cordell then turns the contrast way up, with the girl’s hearty “Hello, world!” and her horseback ride that becomes a parade of animals -- antelope, ostrich, gorilla, blue whale, and more -- all shouting greeting to one another. Sure, it’s message-y, but the message comes with whimsical cartoon art and a keen sense of humor. The ring ring ring of an angry cell phone eventually sends the girl home, but nobody can stay mad -- or inside -- for long when there are dinosaurs and giraffes out there eager to take them for a ride.
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1/10/2013 - Eileen H., Suzhou SIS
FArTHER by Grahame Baker-Smith
"This is a clever picture book with a dream-like quality. It is beautifully designed with a wealth of detail, conveying dark emotions, storms of war and weather, and a powerful sense of loss and bereavement."
http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/recent_winners.php
1/9/2012 - K Gockley, ISB
Chu's Day
Booklist (November 1, 2012 (Vol. 109, No. 5))
Preschool-Kindergarten. This slight but cute picture book from New York Times best-selling author Gaiman introduces a little panda named Chu (as in the ending sound of a sneeze). Chu’s sneezes “cause bad things to happen,” which is a problem when the tyke goes out in public. At the library, surrounded by a musty old-book smell, Chu’s mother asks, “Are you going to sneeze?” He responds with an “aah-aaah-Aaaah” that is followed by “‘No,’ says Chu.” False alarm. At the diner with his father, there’s pepper aplenty in the air, and Chu’s father asks the big question, but it’s also met with a no. While the joke perhaps doesn’t go on long enough before the circus-themed punch line, kids will find the idea of a monstrous sneeze funny, and it may prompt some attempts of their own. Rex’s richly detailed illustrations are brimming with fantastic touches, from teeny-tiny mice on their teeny-tiny computers (sitting in card catalog drawers!) to a koala bear acrobat at the circus to Chu’s penchant for aviation goggles. Share this one at toddler storytime for lots of giggles, or one-on-one for spotting details in the art. HIGH-DEMAND12/12/2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
Saving Yasha: The incredible true story of an adopted Moon Bear, 2012 (reading level 2.3)
Booklist (July 2012 (Vol. 108, No. 21))
Grades K-3. It will be love at first sight when readers take a look at the captivating photos of this endearing little beast. The feelings will only strengthen when they read about the true plight of poor Yasha and two other bears orphaned in the Russian wilderness. The parade of adorableness begins with the cover photo and increases with each successive turn of the page: there’s a very small Yasha placed in the snow, paw raised, looking directly into the camera; Yasha drinking milk from a bottle, sticking out his pink tongue; and so forth. The succinct text explains that the three cubs were saved from poachers by two scientists who unobtrusively studied their behavior while carefully and patiently reintroducing them to the wild so that they could survive on their own. The back matter consists of a map showing where moon bears live, brief information about the bears, a scientist's note, and a resource list. With a handsome design, engaging photos, and compact text, this should have wide appeal.
12/5/2012 - Josianne Fitzgerald, IST
Z IS FOR MOOSE, by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky
Booklist Starred Review. This laugh-out-loud romp of an abecedary features an impatient moose who just can't wait for his turn. There is something intrinsically funny about moose (the art has a Bullwinkle feel), and this overenthusiastic one prematurely pops up onstage at D, wearing a proud grin, with hapless Duck having been pushed out of the way. Zebra (sporting a referee's black-striped shirt) leaps out from the corner, shouting, Moose? No. Moose does not start with D. You are on the wrong page. Moose then wanders onto Elephant's page, Flox and Glove are forced to share a stage and then Moose's irrepressibly excited mug plops down from the ceiling, obscuring Hat: Is it my turn yet? Basically, he is like an antsy kid anticipating his big star turn at M, only to be heartbroken when Mouse is given that letter's starring role. Zebra, though frustrated, is not deaf to Moose's offstage sobbing (look to the title for his resolution to the problem). Ideal for kids who are past struggling to learn the alphabet and who will fully get the humor in Moose's goofy antics.--Foote, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist.
"Behind the Scenes" video for Z is for Moose. http://bcove.me/z4g4bqte from Harper Collins
12/3/12 - Robbie Daniels, AIAN
SWIRL BY SWIRL, by Joyce Sidman, Houghton Mifflin Books, 2011
School Library Journal (December 1, 2011) PreS-Gr 3-Simple science and stunning artwork spell success in this sensational look at a shape found fairly frequently in nature. From the shell of a snail to the starry arms of a spiral galaxy, the colorful scratchboard spreads capture these micro and macro worlds in show-stopping style.
ONE COOL FRIEND, by Toni Buzzeo
PreS-Gr 2 Horn Book starred (Fall 2012) When his father takes him to the aquarium, Eliot heads for the penguins, then takes one home in his backpack. As the illustrations reveal, the whole scenario works because Eliot's father is so focused on his own obsession with turtles that he is humorously oblivious--until the surprise ending--to what Eliot is doing. Buzzeo has crafted a droll narrative; Small's illustrations complement the child-friendly premise.
11/28/2012 - Josianne Fitzgerald, IST
PRESS HERE, by Herve Tullet. Chronicle Books, 2011.
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review. Tullet's brilliant creation proves that books need not lose out to electronic wizardry; his colorful dots perform every bit as engagingly as any on the screen of an iPad. "Ready?" the voiceover-style narration asks on the first page; it shows a yellow dot on a plain white background. "Press here and turn the page," it instructs. When the page is turned, there's a second yellow dot beside the first one. "Great!" it says. "Now press the yellow dot again." A third yellow dot appears beside the first two. "Perfect," the narrator continues. "Rub the dot on the left... gently." On the next page, voila!—that dot is now red. "Well done!" the book congratulates. The fun continues as the dots proliferate, travel around the page, grow and shrink in response to commands to clap, shake, or tilt the book, etc. The joy is in the tacit agreement between artist and reader that what's happening is magic. Shh! Don't tell. All ages. (Apr.)
11/14/2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
TOADS ON TOAST By Linda Bailey.Illustrated by Colin Jack.32 pp. Kids Can Press. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)
A fox is bored and hungry, and tired of the same old grub. Visiting a cookbook store, he realizes he has been foolishly eating big fat toads, whereas most recipes call for young and tender toadlets. In haste, he catches enough small toads to fill a tureen, but then has their clever mother to contend with. (NYTimes Book Review)
GANESHA’S SWEET TOOTH By Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes.Illustrated by Sanjay Patel.40 pp. Chronicle Books. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8)
A sugarcoated twist on a Hindu tale: Ganesha may be a Hindu god, but he used to be a sweets-obsessed child just like any other elephant. His weakness, it seems, is the traditional Indian dessert, laddoo. The freewheeling story involves a jawbreaker version of the dessert, a broken tusk and a tooth that can write. (NYTimes Book Review)
‘Oh, No!’ by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann
This squealing enjoyment is to be found in “Oh, No!,” the first book in which Candace Fleming, the author of picture books (“Clever Jack Takes the Cake”) as well as serious nonfiction (“Amelia Lost”), collaborates with Eric Rohmann, the Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator of “My Friend Rabbit.” What a match!Fleming’s text reverberates with onomatopoeia: a hapless frog tumbles into a deep pit while fleeing a tiger with a “ribbit-oops!,” and a tiny mouse attempts to assist with a worried “pippa-eeek!” Lots of rhythmic repetition makes this a winner for 3- and 4-year-olds. They’ll also enjoy Rohmann’s lush woodblock prints and beat-by-beat panels. A monkey swings from vine to vine before gleefully pointing down into the hole and then — whoops — loses his grip, the final panel on the page showing a dangling vine and a glimpse of tail plunging below.
Ideally, “Oh, No!” should be read aloud by the kind of grown-up who doesn’t redden easily while making silly noises and growling at high volume.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Preview ebook from Harper Collins Publishers here.
Booklist starred (July 2012, Vol. 108, No. 21)
Preschool-Grade 2. This is Willems’ first attempt at retelling a classic fairy tale and, if the endpapers are any indication, he might have struggled a bit at first. Red marks through such options as “Goldilocks and the Three Clams” and “Goldilocks and the Three Orthodontists” eventually give way to the ideal trio: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and “some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.” After they randomly set up three beds, three chairs, and three bowls of chocolate pudding, the dinosaurs head out to “someplace else” and hope “that no innocent little succulent child happens by.” Cue “poorly supervised” Goldilocks, who blithely barges in and helps herself to all the amenities awaiting her, until the pending danger finally dawns on her and she bolts, which causes the returning, hungry dinos to rue the fact they forgot to lock the backdoor. The book’s masterful line art and muted color palette contain untold expressions, perspectives, and jokes, and the text dryly emanates irony, wit, and wonderful words like traipsing and groggy. Willems has delivered his very best work so far—this is a tasty treat for kids already fluent with the original, and for any fan of funny, and everybody will want to read it again and again and again. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With three Caldecott Honor Books to his name—plus zillions of fans—Willems is children’s book royalty.Same, Same but Different. Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Booklist (October 1, 2011 (Online))
Preschool-Grade 1. Elliot, who lives in America, and Kailash, who lives in India, are pen pals exchanging details about their lives through the pictures they draw for each other. By sharing these illustrations and letters, they realize that they have many things in common, like going to school, having pets, and climbing trees. But some things are different, like their alphabets. The repeated phrase “same, same but different” is included in every exchange the boys share. This story, which celebrates similarities and differences, was inspired by the author’s own experiences as a teacher in Nepal, where she arranged a pen-pal program with students in the U.S. The vibrant acrylic, crayon, pencil, and collage illustrations exaggerate shapes to pleasant, semicomic effect. Pair this book with Rachel Isadora’s Say Hello! (2010) to help children with cultural awareness.November 21, 2012 - Karen Gockley, ISB
The Tooth Mouse. Susan Hood - (This has a French connection)
Sophie is a little French mouse who does not like sleeping. What she does like is playing Tooth Mouse, who dodges cats and collects coins to exchange for baby teeth. One day the real Tooth Mouse, elderly and clothed in black, appears and announces she is ready to name a successor. Who will be brave, honest, and wise enough to complete the three tasks Tooth Mouse has devised? Although little ones will suspect it’s Sophie, the mouse girl must be clever and perform with grace before the job is hers. Moreover, the last task leads to such a unique ending that listeners and their parents will smile with the cleverness of it all. Nadeau’s art is clever as well. Using delicate ink lines and soft-shaded watercolors, she offers pictures that seem truly set in a world of mice. There is a lightness and sweetness to the art that makes every full-page picture and vignette a tasty yet smart confection. Those who’ve believed in the Tooth Fairy will happily make a place for the Tooth Mouse.
November 28, 2012 - Karen Gockley
Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons -
Preschool-Grade 1. This third Pete the Cat title finds the unflappable feline digging his favorite shirt: “My buttons, my buttons, / my four groovy buttons.” Then one of these buttons pops off, leaving three. “Did Pete cry? Goodness, no! / Buttons come and buttons go.” He alters his song to reflect the new number. Another button pops on his skateboard, and while getting ice cream, and finally atop his surfboard, until there’s just one button left—his belly button. Litwin’s repetition will make this easy to sing along with (a free song is available for download), and Dean’s art gives everything a sunny-day-at-the-boardwalk feel.